dpb > wrote:
>
> Whatever is the real thing, it certainly ain't the corn sugar; that's a
> relatively recent replacement for only because it's cheaper by
> far...oldsters will claim the switch actually makes the beverage less
> palatable.

There's a "biography" about the Coco Cola company. It tells of using
cane sugar for decades, then switching to beat sugar during WWII then
switching to HFCS.

Some folks can tell the difference between cane sugar and other sugars.
I can if they are straight and side by side but not by the time they are
further refined and used in a recipe. I remember being able to tell the
old Coca Cola from the "Classic Coke". I'm not convinced that the only
difference was the type of sugar used.

There are root beer kits to make semi-home-made root beer. The kit I
have is the Mr Beer type. You could brew a batch with two different
types of sugar and see if you can tell the difference. I bet unless you
use the obviously brown partially refined cane sugar you won't be able
to tell.